Ethical Dilemmas For Critically Ill Babies (international Library Of Ethics, Law, And The New Medicine)
by Eduard Verhagen /
2015 / English / PDF
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Most neonates who now survive intensive care would have died 50
years ago, and “nature” would have decided the outcomes, making
ethical discussions about initiating or withholding resuscitation
irrelevant. Medical developments in neonatology have changed the
way we respond to diseases of neonates, to their illness, and to
their parents. Not only as physicians, but also as a society.
Most neonates who now survive intensive care would have died 50
years ago, and “nature” would have decided the outcomes, making
ethical discussions about initiating or withholding resuscitation
irrelevant. Medical developments in neonatology have changed the
way we respond to diseases of neonates, to their illness, and to
their parents. Not only as physicians, but also as a society.
Decisions on when to start, withhold, or withdraw life-saving
interventions in critically ill neonates are among the most
difficult decisions in pediatric practice. These decisions are
fraught with ethical dilemmas, for example deciding whether
withholding intensive care –leading to death- is superior to
uncertain survival with a risk of disability and the additional
burden of intensive care. This book covers important ethical
questions that arise in neonatal intensive care
units. Questions such as, whether to intervene medically and
whether we are good at predicting the outcome of fragile
neonates; whether a medical intervention should be withheld or
withdrawn, and who should be primarily responsible for these
decisions and how?
Decisions on when to start, withhold, or withdraw life-saving
interventions in critically ill neonates are among the most
difficult decisions in pediatric practice. These decisions are
fraught with ethical dilemmas, for example deciding whether
withholding intensive care –leading to death- is superior to
uncertain survival with a risk of disability and the additional
burden of intensive care. This book covers important ethical
questions that arise in neonatal intensive care
units. Questions such as, whether to intervene medically and
whether we are good at predicting the outcome of fragile
neonates; whether a medical intervention should be withheld or
withdrawn, and who should be primarily responsible for these
decisions and how?
